Paul's Positions Play Well in Iowa

By

Danny Yadron

December 22, 2011

FORT MADISON, Iowa—On the debate stage, Rep. Ron Paul often finds himself isolated from his rivals for the White House. All the major Republican candidates call for limited government, but Mr. Paul's platform is unique in saying that means scaling back drug laws and opposing aggressive action to rid Iran of its nuclear capabilities.

Here in Iowa, however, Mr. Paul's mix of positions has found an audience—and it's big enough to give him, at least for now, the unlikely title of front-runner in the state.

The Texas congressman holds a lead among younger voters, some of whom cite his skepticism of U.S. military action and opposition to federal marijuana laws. Mr. Paul is also drawing a share of fiscal conservatives due to his longstanding call for smaller government. And with his call to "end the Fed," he is attracting voters who are wary of the Federal Reserve and Wall Street.

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"I will be a Ron Paul supporter first and then a Republican," said Frank Conrad, a 62-year-old corrections officer and cattle farmer, who has had a Ron Paul sign on his garage for four years. "He's saying the things I believe."

Few people think Mr. Paul's coalition can carry him all the way to the GOP nomination. His isolationist foreign-policy views have turned off many Republicans. Evangelical Christians, a prominent part of the party, tend to look to other candidates, partly because they believe Mr. Paul will be insufficiently protective of Israel.

But amid a highly fractured GOP field, Mr. Paul has held the lead in three of the last four publicly available polls of GOP voters in Iowa, with support ranging from 20% to 28%.

"Ron Paul has the highest floor here in Iowa," said Tim Albrecht, an aide to Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad. "The name of the game is to bring in the new supporters. Ron Paul has successfully expanded his base this time around much more than he did last time." In 2008, Mr. Paul finished fifth, with 10% of the vote.

His unusual coalition of supporters was on display Wednesday as Mr. Paul appeared before more than 100 people in a hotel conference room here. When he was introduced as the man who would cut $1 trillion in federal spending in his first year in office, the crowd erupted in applause.

Then A.J. Spiker, Mr. Paul's Iowa campaign vice chairman, noted that the congressman would veto any legislation funding abortion—normally a crowd-pleaser at Iowa GOP events. The issue didn't resonate, as the audience was all but silent.

Later, a contingent of younger supporters started a loud chant for one of Mr. Paul's signature issues. "End the Fed!" they cried.

Mr. Paul displayed his wariness of big defense budgets and U.S. entanglements abroad. "Watch out for the military-industrial complex—they always have to have an enemy," Mr. Paul said in Fort Madison. "Nobody is going to invade us. We don't need any more [weapons systems]."

Mr. Paul has been amplifying his cut-the-government message and attacking his opponents with a long-running presence on the airwaves.

And political operatives here say he has the most robust voter-outreach network of all the GOP candidates. In a survey this week by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, more voters said Mr. Paul had "run the strongest campaign" in Iowa than they did for any other candidate.

While many younger voters may not appear on caucus day Jan. 3—out-of-state college students will be home for holiday break—the campaign is hoping to draw them in as volunteers. It has created a "Christmas with Ron Paul" retreat for students the week before the Iowa caucuses.

The campaign has also created a similar "New Year's with Ron Paul" program in New Hampshire for the week before the state's Jan. 10 primary. About 1,100 people have applied for the two programs, the campaign said.

"The other candidates...they just seem like the normal thing," said Mario Winburn, 22 years old, a student at Iowa State University in Ames. "He's always been that kind of crazy person who I was like, 'It'd be cool if he was president.' "

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